Woman who makes $16 an hour explains how she bought her first home at 23 with a mortgage lender

Buying your first home is a big milestone. However, this milestone has shifted further and nearly become impossible to achieve for many youngsters. Sky-high real estate costs, mortgage rates, and cost of living have pushed home ownership out of reach for millions. However, some claim that with the right financial habits, savings, and guidance, youngsters can buy a house in their 20s. TikTok creator Jennifer (@jennram) reveals how she bought her first house at 23.

Jennifer’s Guide To Buying Your First House

Jennifer claims she was neither making loads of money nor she had huge savings. However, with the right guidance, she was able to buy a house. In a video, she shares how she bought her house and tells people to understand that this would be the biggest purchase of their life. 

The first piece of advice that Jennifer shares is to get the best mortgage lender they can find. She then shared that it was her mortgage lender who guided her on everything she needed in order to qualify for a mortgage.

She says she got a job and worked for nine months while saving everything she could with discipline. Meanwhile, she kept updating her lender about everything. She says after nine months she finally got to house shopping, found one, and closed within 11 months. In another video, she shared that she made $16 per hour and worked 40 hours a week at the job. 

While people agreed with her advice, several shared some tips of their own. One user, (@imstillnola504) urged people to not go house-poor. The user recommended people get a house that they could afford while taking care of house insurance, maintenance, property tax, and everything. 

Meanwhile, Jennifer’s viewers had some doubts about the content as well. One of the viewers, (@user6324587407) asked if they should get a mortgage lender and not a realtor. To this, Jennifer replied that people should go for a mortgage lender first as a realtor only helps with house shopping which can’t be done without a mortgage approval. 

Jennifer’s home-buying success even caught the attention of a TV personality, as per a Yahoo Finance report. Famous TV show host, Dr. Phil invited her on his show in April to talk about her motivations behind buying her own house. 

In the show, Jennifer explained that her biggest motivation came to her from her parents. She said her parents were in their early 60s and still working “not by choice, but because they have to.” Thus, Jennifer didn’t want to end up like that and she wanted to have a choice whether she wanted to go to work when she was old.

That is when Jennifer decided to get into real estate and start working on her way to buying her first house. However, at the show, she admitted that saving up everything she earned wasn’t easy. 

For more home-buying tips personal finance, and entertainment content, follow Jennifer (@_jennram) on TikTok. 

Editor's note: This article was originally published on May 2, 2024. It has since been updated.